Low-Cost Technology for Animal Products
Curing and Preserving Livestock Hides and Skin
- Location: All regions, Philippines
Technical Description
In the absence of tanneries in localities or provinces, farmers sell hides and skins immediately after the slaughter of animals. On the other hand farmers/butchers who regularly slaughter large animals save the hides until an adequate number are available. Goat, sheep or pigskins are seldom saved for leather processing, because the skins of these species can be immediately used as food.
Hides and skins intended for leather processing are washed and drained immediately after flaying. The curing and preservation process is usually by the application of salt. Salting hides and skin is a practice very commonly adopted by farmers and butchers who regularly slaughter animals.
The salt applied will introduce an excess of inorganic salts and produce some dehydration. This process arrests the favorable growth of bacteria that will otherwise decompose the hides.
The hides and skins are spread on a slightly inclined slatted platform, with the flesh upward (Fig. 1). The amount of salt applied is about 40% of the weight of the hide of cattle and water buffalo, and 30% of the weight of the skin of goat, rabbit, and sheep. This is applied over the flesh side. The succeeding hides or skins are piled on top, using the same application rate of salt. Technically, the first salting should be carried out within 5 hours of flaying. The second salting is done 2-3 days after the first salting.
Uses and Merits
The practice is relatively simple. Salt is readily available, cheap and effective in curing and preserving the raw hides and skin for a relatively long period. By observing proper flaying and preservation procedures, hides and skin can be sold to tanneries at a higher price. With good raw leather materials, the local leather industry is likely to thrive and become more competitive.
Reservations on Its Use
The use of salt and its improper disposal can adversely affect the fertility of the soil, causing damage to the farm, nearby streams and reservoirs. Despite salting, the smell from hide curing and preservation may not be very pleasant to the neighborhood.
Expert's Comments
The best type of salt for hide preservation is small round pellets which spread and dissolve evenly. Also, in salting it is best to mix an antiseptic such as naphthalene or boric acid in every 100 kg of salt used. The use of dirty and recycled salt should be avoided to prevent contamination with halophilic bacteria. Because of the unpleasant smell from the hides and skin being preserved, it is recommended that the storage sheds be located in isolated areas. If this is not possible, hides and skins should be sold immediately after slaughter.
Manufacture of Cottage Cheese from Water Buffalo Milk
- Location: Philippines
Technical Description
The manufacture of white cheese (other names are cottage cheese and soft cheese) is quite popular in some provinces in the Philippines. The cheese are often wrapped in green banana leaves (Fig. 2). Depending on the materials used in the region, the quality of the product varies (either soft or hard). White cheeses are usually made from buffalo milk because of the relatively high butterfat content in these animals' milk. White cheese, being a delicacy, fetches a higher price than fresh milk when marketed.
In Laguna, the white cheese produced is softer than that produced in the Visayas. The coagulant used determines the quality and texture of the cheese. In softer cheese, the coagulant used is rennin from the rennet extracted from the dried abomasums of young cattle or water buffalo. Other white cheeses use vinegar or dilute acetic acid as the coagulant.
Uses and Merits
The manufacture of cheese adds value to fresh milk collected from farm animals. If cheese processors are present in a community, farmers will have an immediate market for their milk. Cheese manufacture can easily become a new source of income. Another spillover effect in white cheese manufacture is that buffalo raisers will see to it that their animals are well managed, and fed and bred regularly, to produce the calf and milk.
Reservations on Its Use
The processing of water buffalo milk into cheese requires the desired volume of milk, regular collection, hygiene and sanitation, and an organized marketing set-up. Milk and dairy products, being highly perishable, require cool storage and a high degree of sanitation. Studies have shown that cottage cheeses manufactured in smallhold operations have a short shelf life because of their high bacterial count.
Expert's Comments
Regardless of the scale of operation, the type of the product and the region where white cheese is processed, observing the right hygiene and sanitation is essential. The handling of milk, the equipment and containers used, the packaging materials (banana leaves, wax paper or plastic), the storage and the processing areas, all contribute to the improvement of the quality of the product in terms of taste and shelf life.
Use of Sheep and Goat Manure As Fertilizer
- Location: Philippines and elsewhere
Technical Description
The use of goat and sheep manure as fertilizer is a widespread practice. Goat and sheep manure when applied as fertilizer is either dried or composted. This prevents burning or wilting of the crop, which otherwise might occur if manure is applied fresh.
The manure is periodically collected from shed floors or from under the shed, and stored in pits to decompose together with leftover feed or foliage (Fig. 3, Fig. 4). It can also be sun-dried before it is spread in the paddy field or applied at the base of fruit trees (Fig. 5).
Uses and Merits
Goat and sheep manure contains about 1.3 g N/100g dry matter. It is a good source of organic matter. On a long-term basis, its use is beneficial to the soil since it restores or improves fertility.
The use of manure relieves farmers of the high cost of inorganic fertilizers. Moreover, it helps clean the farm of wastes that could otherwise be a breeding ground for microorganisms that can cause livestock diseases.
Reservations on Its Use
The use of goat or sheep manure as fertilizer, particularly that coming from free grazing animals, poses a danger of spreading the seeds of weeds all over the farm. If the animals are fed on mixed forages, especially those collected from native pasture, the problem of spreading the weeds is very acute.
Hence, if manure is to be used as fertilizer, it is recommended that animals are fed on forage that is not yet bearing seeds. This is easier if the goats are confined in pens rather than free ranging. Tree leaves, improved grasses and legumes are ideal. Goat manure kept in pits can serve as an ideal habitat for beetles and vermin, which can cause damage to crops or trees such as coconut.
Low-Cost Incubator for Production of Embryonated Duck Eggs or &Quot;Balut&Quot;
- Location: Laguna and Rizal, Philippines
Technical Description
Embryonated duck egg, known in the Philippines as "balut", is a special food delicacy among Filipinos. It is considered a cheap and nutritious snack food sold commercially. The product is a 17-day old incubated fertile duck egg.
Incubation is done in the "balutan", an indigenous incubator. This consists of cylindrical baskets, 34 inches high and 21 inches wide, open at both sides. These are placed in chest-like structures, with the spaces around filled with rice hull up to 4 inches from the brim (Fig. 6).
Before setting the fertile eggs in the baskets, unhusked rice (`palay') is heated to 43°C in a vat or cauldron. A simple test for the right temperature is when one can feel the heat but can still hold the heated rice in one's bare hands.
Egg bags are then placed in the basket, alternated with bags of heated rice. One bag of heated rice is generally used for every bag of eggs. However, for efficient heat conservation, two bags of heated rice at the bottom and two on top of the basket is recommended. Thus, for every basket containing 10 layers of eggs, 13 bags of heated unhusked rice are needed. The whole set-up is then covered with jute sacks for better heat conservation.
Eggs are candled on the 11th and 17th days. Infertile eggs and those with dead embryos are separated and cooked. The embryonated eggs are harvested after 17 days, and cooked in a cauldron of hot water.
Uses and Merits
The low-cost technology has been adopted as a cottage industry supporting the local duck industry. The technology is simple and needs very little investment. The incubation of eggs in large numbers can be done without electricity.
Reservations on Its Use
One limitation of the technology is that it requires considerable handling of eggs, particularly the turning, while the heat of the unhusked rice must be maintained to sustain the ideal temperature of the local incubator. Too much handling of eggs can result in the death of the developing embryos.
With inconsistent or inaccurate monitoring of temperature and humidity, a high percentage of embryos may die at an early stage of the incubation. The use of this system of incubation requires experience and skill, particularly in maintaining the right conditions for embryo development.
Curing Salted Duck Eggs in Clay
- Location: Philippines and elsewhere
Technical Description
Processing of duck eggs into salted or red eggs is a way of prolonging the shelf life and adding value to the product. The clay used is preferably from an anthill or termite hill. This is sticky, and mixes well with salt and water. The immersion of uncooked egg in the medium takes 19 days, using a mixture of four parts of clay and one part of table salt (by volume) (Fig. 7). The shelf life of the salted egg using the process is 39 days in ordinary temperatures.
Uses and Merits
The general purpose of salting eggs is merely to prolong the storage and shelf life of the egg. It also adds value to this farm product. Another common procedure is to preserve eggs in a saturated salt solution.
Clay produces good-quality salted eggs. The yolk is of a brighter yellow, and oil is distinctly present in it. These characteristics are desired by consumers. Because of the slow absorption of salt to the inside of the egg, the final product is not very salty.
Reservations on Its Use
The use of clay in salted egg making is relatively laborious, since the salted eggs must be cleaned and washed before marketing. The process of mixing the eggs with clay and water is rather messy. Another possible reservation on the use of the clay as a medium is the high incidence of contamination from microbes that gain entry into the egg through the shell. Sterilization of the clay is recommended.
Acknowledgements
We are indebted to the following persons for providing the information about low-cost farming practices for livestock production.
DR. Yong-Kyun Pak
Livestock Section, Extension Service Bureau,
Rural Development Administration
250, Seodun-Dong, Kwonseon-Ku, Suwon 441-707,
Republic of Korea
DR. Edwin C. Villar
Livestock Research Division
Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development,
Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST)
Los Banos, Laguna 4030, Philippines
MR. Shing-Shi Huang, MR. Meeng-Ter Koh, MR. Jeng-Yong Lin, DR. Lin-Ren Chen, MR. Shuen-Rong Lee, MR. Hsin-Ten Huang, and MR. Chin-Shiung Chen
Taiwan Livestock Research Institute
112, Muchang, Hsinhua, Tainan 712, Taiwan, ROC
DR. Chanvit Vajrabukka
Department of Animal Science,
Faculty of Agriculture,
Kasetsart Universtiy, Bangkok, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Index of Images
Figure 1 Preservation of Hides and Skins.
Figure 2 Local Cottage Cheese Production in the Philippines
Figure 3 Collection of Fresh Manure beneath Goat/Sheep Shed
Figure 4 Sundried or Stored in Pits As Compost
Figure 5 Used As Fertilizer
Figure 6 Low-Cost Incubator Used to Produce Embryonated Eggs in the Philippines.
Figure 7 Curing Salted Duck Eggs in Clay
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